critiquing research articles for important and highly relevant articles: 1. introduce the study, say...

Critiquing Research Articles

For important and highly relevant articles:1. Introduce the study, say how it exemplifies the

point you are discussing2. Say how the study is similar to yours, in

purpose and / or method3. Report its methodology in detail 4. Critique the methodology 5. Report details of the findings that relate to your

topic6. If its findings are limited or unjustified, tell how 7. Give its implications for your study


For studies moderately related to yours: 1. Introduce the study, saying how it exemplifies

the point you’re discussing2. Report its general methodology3. Report its general findings related to your topic4. If its findings are limited or conclusions

unjustified, tell how5. Give its implications for your study


For studies somewhat related, used for background information:

1. Introduce the study, saying how it exemplifies the point you are discussing

2. Give the “gist” of its findings related to your topic

3. Give its implications for your study

How to Critique a Research Study

The Introduction Section: Is the problem clearly stated? Are the argument and rationale for the

study convincing? Are primary terms and concepts clearly

defined? Are the author’s assumptions made clear? Are the research questions or hypotheses

stated in testable form?


The Method Section:1. Research Design What type of design was selected? Is it

appropriate? Were extraneous and confounding

variables controlled by the design? Are independent and dependent variables

adequate to test the questions and hypotheses? Is the predicted relationship between (among) them clear?


2. Participants Was the sample size large enough? Were subjects selected randomly? Are the relevant characteristics of the

sample described? If subjects were not randomly assigned to

experimental groups, were they comparable on relevant characteristics?


3. Measures Do selected measures appropriately

operationalize the variables? Are satisfactory reliability and validity data

provided for all measures? For interpretive measures, was scoring

objective? For two or more raters, was satisfactory inter-

rater reliability found? Are measures administered consistently to

different groups?


4. Results Do the data fulfill assumptions underlying

statistical tests? Are the statistical tests appropriate for the

questions and hypotheses? Are the appropriate statistics reported for each

test? For multiple statistical tests, do authors adjust

alpha error levels? For statistical tests, are adequate statistics

(means, SD, shared variance for correlations etc.) presented?


5. Interpretation and Discussion Are statistical tests interpreted correctly? Are generalizations only to the population from

which the sample was drawn? Do authors identify problems of control that

weren’t addressed by the design or analysis? Do authors mention other limitations of the

study? Are conclusions consistent with statistical results? Are alternative conclusions considered? Are theoretical and / or practical implications

discussed?


Overview Questions: Was the method reported in sufficient detail that

you could replicate the study? What was the theoretical context for the study? What issues were raised and not addressed? What assumptions were made? What did the authors overlook? Were there any major problems that invalidate

the study? What contribution did the study make? How does the study relate to your topic?

Your Literature Review

Must have 7-10 current references from academic journals cited

Written in APA format Copies of journal articles used must be

turned in to professor with the assignment Should be 5 typed pages Literature review should include introduction,

summary and critique of journal articles, a justifications for your research project and the hypotheses for your research project

critiquing research articles for important and highly relevant articles: 1. introduce the study, say...

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